Scenes like these, while providing wonderful imagery, are pure fiction. In a real courtroom, there is no back-and-forth argument between counsel and witness as examinations proceed through questioning alone. In a real courtroom, the truth doesn’t always emerge. In a real courtroom, there are many shades of gray between good and evil. And finally, in a real courtroom, the bad guys don’t always lose, and the good guys don’t always win.
As future business professionals, your responsibility to your company, to your company’s stakeholders, and to yourself is to avoid ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. Acting ethically and legally, and identifying the legal pitfalls that you may encounter by mastering the elements of this course, will help you achieve this goal. Agreeing to arbitration for parties that you have a preexisting relationship with, such as your customers, suppliers, or employees, will also help you stay away from a courtroom. In spite of this planning, however, many companies still find that litigation is sometimes unavoidable. Whether litigation is initiated against parties you don’t have a contract with (such as another company that steals your intellectual property rights) or by parties you don’t have a contract with (such as a customer who is injured by your product or an employee harassed by another employee), litigation may be the only dispute-resolution mechanism available.
In this chapter we’ll explore the process of litigation from the beginning to the end. You’ll learn about the parties involved and about preliminary matters such as standing and personal jurisdiction and then explore the trial and appeal. We’ll also discuss the role of lawyers and juries in our litigation system. By the end of the chapter, you’ll have an appreciation that while our litigation system is cherished for its ability to resolve disputes peacefully and establishes a hallmark for public accessibility, for businesses it is often a far from satisfactory forum for dispute resolution.
Key Takeaways
Litigation is an inevitable part of a business’s activities. Lawsuits, trials, and appeals can be ruinously expensive for some companies, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises. Learning about our litigation system will give you the skills and comfort you need should your company find itself in litigation.
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